Thursday, January 21, 2010

Prep list

Rory and I are hosting a couple of friends for dinner Saturday. I'm not doing anything too complex, salad, pork tenderloin with with a couple of sides and dessert. The meal is taken mainly from the Ad Hoc cookbook.

And while this meal is pretty simple, I find myself, for the first time, writing a prep list. Now whenever I go to the grocery store I have a list, I can't think of a time in the last couple of years where I haven't had a list when I went to the store, it just makes me more efficient. But for this meal, because of some of the little complexities, I find myself making sure that I take care of some of the little things too.

Most of the recipes are pretty simple but there are a few things I need to do in advance. I'm doing this smashed roasted potatoes, which call for garlic confit, and these torn croutons, which need the oil from the confit but I need to do it ahead of time.

Then there's the brine for the pork and the custard for the ice cream and we can't forget the brownies, but should I make them the day before or the day of?

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Why I cook

Cooking for me is an escape. I learned how to cook from both my parents. My dad taught me how to make breakfast and grill and my mom taught me how to make sauces and bake (though I just started to bake again).

I have always cooked for myself, but the past couple year or so I have been cooking more and that's due to Rory, the fiancee. I love cooking for her and cooking for someone else is always better.